Tips for developing a kick serve

[prattle128]

first thing, yes, ive already been to fuzzyyellowballs.com.

i went there, and it was helpful as far as getting me kind of the idea. i went and practiced the progressions, and am still working on them, but i feel like they can only help me up to a point, and then its just that i either figure it out, or i dont figure it out. i was just wondering on what you guys make sure you focus on when you go to hit a kick serve.

right now, i kinda use something of a quick "dink" for a 2nd serve, so something better than that would be really useful haha.

[StringingIrvine]

Try working on just a regular topspin serve. Instead of focusing on 8 o'clock to 2 o'clock motion, just work on a 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock motion. Still focus on tossing the ball as you would a kick serve. Also don't worry about the kick at the end just judge how your doing by the ball movement. You can always work on the kick after but if your trying to improve your second serve then you want consistancy first.

I'd say the main focus of a kick serve is the toss. Everything comes from the toss with a kick serve or a topspin serve. Toss, Toss, Toss.

[Nellie]

MY advice - stay sideways and develop a pure topspin serve using a racquet path that looks like a tomahawk chop up and through the ball, brushing along the strings without really hitting the ball. Aim well over the net and you will get a slow-paced, high arching moonball serve. Once you get the spin, it is easier, in my opinion, to add pace.

[StuckInMalibu]

Do what Nellie says. The clock analogy makes sense if you hit the ball without turning the shoulders around like you would for a flat serve. You just stand there, toss the ball over your head or even your right shoulder (if rightie) and do that chopping motion upwards from 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock. Here are some videos that could help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNvD7-KbcEA&feature=PlayList&p=6D91D21E8B45BD5C&index=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xbC31AQqSg&feature=related

Fed in the second vid serves flat, then kick, flat, and then kick. The first vid isolates the upward swing pattern. You should see the same swingpath in Fed's kick. Once you get the basic idea, you can add the full motion the way fuzzyyellowballs showed you. Have you tried using an open-string racquet? The POG has only 14 mains and that seems to help for kick serves.

[NotAtTheNet]

Nellie and Malibu are right. Go with extreme spin for dependability and as you get comfy with it, start tossing a little more in front to develop pace but without sacrificing consistency.

[Mansewerz]

Good tips. I'm gonna work on staying sideways more. Right now my kicker has decent speed, but the kick just puts it up in my opponents strike zone.

[NotAtTheNet]

^^^

switch it up between kick and slice serves. kick on duece side, slice on the ad side to draw them out wide.

[SlapShot]

^^^

switch it up between kick and slice serves. kick on duece side, slice on the ad side to draw them out wide.

Unless the OP is a lefty, a slice on the deuce and kick on the ad would draw the returner wide of the court (although I frequently use a kick up the middle on the deuce and a slice up the middle on the ad to force the returner to bring the ball straight up the middle to set up my net man on a poach, but that's another story for another day....).

[NotAtTheNet]

yes yes, my mistake, i was thinking in terms of only the spin of the ball affecting the bounce direction.

[Mansewerz]

yes yes, my mistake, i was thinking in terms of only the spin of the ball affecting the bounce direction.

That's what i plan on doing. My goal is serve and volley, so I should make those serves my bread and butter. For now, my game is get the opponent deep with groundstrokes, and get to the net!

[prattle128]

thank you very much for the pointers, i will definitely try and implement some of these into my serve practice, and see if i can get the hang of this thing haha.

[fattsoo]

Thanks guys for the info, i'm learning from this post too! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS/GALS!!!

[trenzterra]

well i am also just starting to learn the topspin serve.

to get more bounce height on it you need to use the same strength as in a flat serve, but use it on the slice motion instead of pushing the ball forward.

when first starting out, i wouldn't do the full motion (bend my knees and stuff), but just make sure that the contact is right. i just imagine that my racquet is swiping up a quarter-circle and after a while i think its quite easyto execute already.